Thursday, November 5, 2015

God has mercifully entrusted to me four daughters. They are precious and they are blessed gifts from God. My ultimate passion for them is to know Christ and to serve Him with all their might. I pray that they would not just know about God but that they would truly know God Himself and fall in love with Him more and more each day for He is the supreme joy and the fountain of infinite delights. This essay provides a father’s longing. Daughters: know Jesus Christ, the ultimate Bridegroom.

1. A loving bridegroom.The Lord Jesus Christ is a loving bridegroom. He displays the true meaning of love. Far more than sappy emotions and flittering feelings, the love of Christ compelled him to self-giving action on behalf of His bride. He initiated. He sacrificed. He gave Himself. He unconditionally served His bride for her benefit. His is the ultimate, supreme love. Daughters: know this Jesus!

2. A sacrificing bridegroom.A real comprehension of love is known by what Christ did at Calvary and it prompts all believers to intentionally sacrifice for others because this is how Christ demonstrated love. Jesus sacrificed for His elect. He sought His bride. He went after her. He had a singular mission: to obey His father and to redeem His Bride. He modeled a tireless life of selfless sacrifice!

3. A courageous bridegroom.The Lord Jesus as the perfect bridegroom never cowered away in fear or trembled in the face of opposition from unbelievers. He courageously lived as a real man with an indomitable fear of God and a confident trust in Scripture. He knew that God sent Him and that God would protect Him. He lived courageously and confidently as He sought His bride, won His bride, and provided atonement for His bride.

4. A sober-minded bridegroom.Christ lived a sober-minded life. He was absolutely resolved and determined to follow His God and obey God’s Word regardless of the cost and regardless of human response. He was a man who exuded appropriate seriousness, soundness of speech and piety of heart. He was humble, gentle, caring, compassionate, and firm. He did not trifle with the things of this world. The things of the ungodly never captivated the Savior. In all things, he lived sober-mindedly.

5. A gentle bridegroom.Preeminently, the Lord Jesus, this blessed bridegroom, lived a gentle life. He had a lowly and gentle heart. He was meek, selfless, sacrificial, and divinely powerful. He had all strength to move mountains; for indeed, He created them! And yet He lived with such tenderness that He welcomed even the weakest of children and the most despicable of societal outcasts. He had strength but He always wielded that strength in a controlled way — always.

6. A holy bridegroom.This bridegroom was wholly committed to the truthfulness of Scripture. He hid it in his heart. By the way he talked and through the way He rebuked wayward sinners and even His closest friends, He poured forth Scriptural truth from his lips. He prized the glory of God. He loved communing with the Father in prayer. He depended always and ever on the empowering of the Spirit of God. He cried out for strength, he endured through hardships, and he clung to the blessed promises of Scripture. Of all men, this bridegroom was a holy, devout, righteous, pure and godly man.

Precious daughters: I entreat you to know this bridegroom. Let this bridegroom captivate you with His love, ravish you with His tenderness, woo your heart with His promises, and instruct you in what to look for in a husband by how He lived His life. To prepare for marriage, strive with all your hearts to know this bridegroom. Worship Him! Love Him! Frequently serve Him! Let Him bathe you with His kisses and let Him sing over you with His covenant-love. If you do anything: strive — and never cease! — to know this blessed and glorious bridegroom!